Masque | ||||
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![]() Cover art reproduces Water , a painting by Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1975 | |||
Recorded | 1975 | |||
Studio | Studio in the Country, Bogalusa, Louisiana | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 40:44 | |||
Label | Kirshner (US) Epic (rest of the world) | |||
Producer | Jeff Glixman | |||
Kansas chronology | ||||
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Singles from Masque | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock | 4/5 [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Masque is the third studio album by American progressive rock band Kansas. The album was released in September 1975, remastered for CD in 2001, and again remastered and reissued on vinyl in 2014. The opening track, "It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man)", was remixed for release as a single but was not popular, including additional guest vocals and segments far different from the album version.
Masque peaked at #70 on the Billboard album chart, and approximately 250,000 units were sold within months. [5] Each of Kansas's first three album releases had new commercial interest with certified Gold sales of 500,000 units (Masque in December 1977) due to the platinum success of the fourth and fifth studio albums: Leftoverture (1976) and Point of Know Return (1977). [6]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "It Takes a Woman's Love (To Make a Man)" | Steve Walsh | Walsh | 3:08 |
2. | "Two Cents Worth" | Kerry Livgren, Walsh | Walsh | 3:08 |
3. | "Icarus - Borne on Wings of Steel" | Livgren [7] | Walsh | 6:03 |
4. | "All the World" | Walsh, Robby Steinhardt | Walsh and Steinhardt | 7:11 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
5. | "Child of Innocence" | Livgren | Walsh and Steinhardt | 4:36 |
6. | "It's You" | Walsh | Walsh | 2:31 |
7. | "Mysteries and Mayhem" | Livgren, Walsh | Walsh and Steinhardt | 4:18 |
8. | "The Pinnacle" | Livgren | Walsh and Steinhardt | 9:44 |
No. | Title | Length |
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9. | "Child of Innocence" (Demo from the recording sessions) | 5:04 |
10. | "It's You" (Demo from the recording sessions) | 2:41 |
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [8] | 70 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [9] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Kansas is an American rock band that formed in 1973 in Topeka, Kansas, and became popular during the decade initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind." The band has produced nine gold albums, three multi-platinum albums, one other platinum studio album (Monolith), one platinum live double album, and a million-selling single, "Dust in the Wind." Kansas appeared on the US Billboard charts for over 200 weeks throughout the 1970s and 1980s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. "Carry On Wayward Son" was the second-most-played track on US classic rock radio in 1995 and No. 1 in 1997.
Kerry Allen Livgren is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas.
Point of Know Return is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1977. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2002.
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